The "Public Option" in Health Care is Alive and Well in California

Every once in while I like to comment on non-transit issues on this blog.  In this case, I'd like to take on health care in California.

One of the components of the Affordable Health Care Act (a.k.a. "Obamacare") that people are missing is how much latitude each state has in implementing it. During the development of this legislation advocates for a national single-payer system (a.k.a. "Medicare-for-All") were not even allowed to come to the table to make their case.  Even the compromise position, giving everyone access to a public health insurance option, tragically couldn't get past a Senate filibuster.

However, thanks to this legislation, individual states can follow Vermont's example and pursue single-payer health care or at least place public health insurance plans on their state's coming health insurance exchanges as a state "public option".

Now I still from a policy standpoint prefer Medicare-for-All or single-payer health care.  Twice single-payer health care has passed the California state legislature only to be vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger.  Now that there is a Democratic Governor who would be expected to be favorable to the legislation, SB810 is unfortunately stalled in the legislature thanks to insurance industry lobbying.

Several California counties have public health plans already, and California is likely to even have a choice of public health insurance plans as progressive counties like San Francisco and Alameada are looking to putting their public plans on the statewide exchange.

Read this Article: The Public Option is Alive and Well in California


The good news for health insurance reform activists, is that it looks as if in California we will at least have one or more public options on our state's coming health insurance exchange.  Even if "Obamacare" is struck down by the Supreme Court, the California state legislation creating a state health insurance exchange still stands.

The question now becomes, are county plans on the statewide exchange accountable to county Boards of Supervisors the best way to give access to public health insurance options?  Should a statewide public plan accountable to the Governor and the Legislature be include on the state exchange?  Could Medical be turned into a statewide public option open to everyone?

Watch this space for news about this issue unfolds over the next two years.

Vote YES for a California Public Health Insurance Option!

While most of the issues I discuss on this blog are related to public transportation issues, I also like to discuss and mention other issues dear to my heart.

Many of us who support single-payer health care, otherwise known as Medicare-for-All, supported a compromise during the health care reform debate called the "public option".  The public health insurance option would have been opened to everyone.  Unfortunately, the corporations who have a stranglehold on our nation's politics managed to scuttle even that.  What we have left with the Affordable Health Care Act (called "Obamacare" or "Romneycare" by its detractors) is a mandate to buy private insurance and a tax penalty if we don't beginning in 2014, without even the choice of a public health insurance option.

There is a group seeking to change this.  California and many states will have a new health insurance exchange beginning in 2014.  Consumer Watchdog, the group behind legendary Proposition 103 in 1988 that called for a 20% rollback in auto insurance rates and created an elected State Insurance Commissioner, is seeking a new proposition for November 2012 to (1) roll back health insurance rates 20%; (2) allow the State Insurance Commissioner to reject unjustified health insurance rate increases; (3) create a new statewide, open-to-everyone public health insurance option on our state's exchange.

Here's a link to Consumer Watchdog's post on this:  "Health-care-measure-seeks-public-option-rollbacks"

Sign me up.

By the way, the Affordable Health Care Act gives state's great latitude to pursue stronger health care systems in their states.  Vermont is going for single-payer health care.  "Vermont Governor Signs Single-Payer Health Care Bill into Law"

So why isn't California?  The state legislature passed single-payer health care when Gov. Schwarzenegger was in office, which he vetoed.  Why don't they pass it now with Gov. Jerry Brown in office?  Did they only pass it because they knew it wouldnt' be signed?

Here is State Senator Mark Leno's bill to bring single-payer health care in California

SB810 Fact Sheet

Call your Democratic legislators and ask them.